Peak
by Sol's Darkness
Summary: While sneaking on top of the legendary- and banned- Mt. Silver, Ash is attacked by an extremely powerful attacker who defeats him with ease… and steals his hat. A mixture of the Manga, Anime, and Games.
1. Chapter 1

**Peak**

…

Ash Ketchum shivered violently despite his large winter coat, two scarves, hat, earmuffs, ski pants, and boots. The fact that his mittens were sopping with melted snow wasn't helping.

Why had he wanted to climb Mt. Silver again?

… Oh yeah. All of the rumors of something powerful (probably a Pokémon, and a rare one) on the peak, the strength needed to even get to the peak, the chance of training… and the fact that it was forbidden to enter.

He had begged Prof. Oak to allow him up, but it was always no, no, too dangerous, and no again. Party pooper. And when he had asked his friends to come with him, they all said the same thing as the professor! It was a conspiracy!

He was a lot stronger since Kalos. He actually managed to finally win the Indigo League! He was certainly strong enough to attempt, at least. Not his fault the champions had never explored it.

The mountain had been closed off for twenty years, and nobody remembered exactly why. There had been theories; but they were boring. 'Landslides', 'freezing conditions', 'Pokemon reserve', 'can't breathe up there'. He should have paid more attention to the second one, but, when had he ever been sensible? At least, that's what Misty said.

He thought that it was a powerful, rare, new Pokemon. And he was going to discover and capture it.

…

He reached the peak just after sunset. Pikachu had actually chosen to go inside his pokeball, which he hadn't in years. Actually, all of his pokemon had seemed restless since it had started getting dark.

And then he saw the shadowy form of… something. Two somethings, actually, one tall and lean, the other small, like an animal.

Ash sent out his most trusted Pokemon. "Go, Pikachu!"

As soon as the electric mouse landed on the ground, his eyes grew wide and his fur stood on end, every inch of his stance indicating fear. Pikachu was never afraid.

It started to snow. Harder and harder, until it was almost like a mist, or a shroud.

And then a beam of strange, shimmering light shot forward, hitting Pikachu square in the chest. After a second, the veil of white seemed to part, revealing that Pikachu…

… had fainted.

How was this possible?

The sense of wrong-ness was growing stronger. "Pikachu, return."

What to send out next…? Oh! "Hey, you know, it's not fair to not let me see your Pokemon!" The snow around the smaller figure seemed to part, revealing…

An Espeon. Not exactly a rare pokemon. What a disappointment.

Well, at least Ash knew what he was going to send out next. "Go, Charizard!" The fire pokemon was quite the powerhouse, it should be able to hold out against an attack. "Flamethrower!"

Charizard looked over at Espeon, then at Ash. The boy started when he saw its face. Terror. The pokemon roared in the direction of the shadowed figure, then flew up into the air, turning to swoop down and pick up Ash with a rush of wind.

"Put me down, Charizard! We don't run away from battles! C'mon!"

"Grrrr…"

"Now."

Reluctantly, the fire type turned around and dropped Ash off. And the boy startled. He felt a strange, alien pleasure. It was somehow separate from his other feelings of anger, frustration, and determination.

"Now, Charizard, flamethrower!"

A huge jet of flame licked across the snow-covered rocks, surrounding the Espeon. The fire cleared revealing the Espeon, unhurt. It looked even more ethereal than any others of its species.

The gem on its forehead glowed, and Charizard was surrounded by energy, throwing back onto the cliffs, and surrounded it with slowly settling dust.

Fainted.

…

The other four battles had followed in a similar fashion. Satraptor started to fall off the mountain, only surviving because Ash returned it in time. Sceptile dodged a ton of them, but the one hit that got in felled it. Muk was out in the first minute.

"Samurott, hydro pump!"

The stream of water shot toward the still-standing, practically unharmed Espeon. It jumped, and the jet evaporated off the side of Mt. Silver.

A beam of multi-colored light flashed towards the otter, hitting it square on the chest. The water type collapsed.

Ash heard a crack from above him, and looked up to see stones falling towards him, where a psybeam had hit earlier.

Suddenly, they stopped falling, surrounded by a glow. Espeon's gem was glowing. But one stone wasn't caught by the psychic, and knocked him on the head. And as his vision blackened, he felt a strange, alien sense of disappointment.

…

The figure walked over to the fallen boy. He was disappointed that his first challenger in twenty years hadn't put up more of a fight. Well, it was to be expected. He wasn't the one he was waiting for.

He picked up the boy's bag and started rummaging through it. There. The pokeballs.

He looked around at all of the unconscious pokemon. They were pretty bad. It was a good thing he had a ton of Max revives.

He returned them to their trainer after healing. He needed a couple more things.

Ah, the trainer card. Let's see… Ash Ketchum. Heh. Sounds like Catsup. Or, Catch 'em. He liked that name. Ooh, he beat the Indigo League. Pretty good. He replaced the ID.

Now, the final thing before he sent him back: his hat.

He leaned over and grabbed the soft fabric of the baseball cap. It looked new.

He nodded to Espeon. Its gem flared bright red, and the boy disappeared in a flash of light.

Now that that was over with, he walked over to a small cave, and placed the hat in there next to the two others he had collected.

A big, white, poof-y hat with a pink bow tied around it, and another baseball cap with black and gold stripes.

…

**Okay, I really like this. Should I continue?**


	2. Chapter 2

Peak Ch. 2

…

Misty sighed. "Ms. Ketchum, you wouldn't happen to know where Ash is?" The over excitable teen boy had promised to visit her.

Delia shook her head. "I've been worried sick! I remember him hauling out some heavy winter gear, though."

The redhead buried her face in her hands. "Oh, no! He's not allowed to go up there!"

_"Up where?!"_ Misty had the mother's attention.

"Mt. Silver… the region champions and the professors haven't been allowing him up there. They keep saying that it's for a reason, but he just wouldn't listen!"

"And what exactly is that reason?" Suddenly the tone was as sharp as a blade.

And that's when Ash appeared out of nowhere and crashed down on Delia's china plates.

…

"Oooooh…" groaned Ash. Everything was contorted, but slowly swaying into focus. "Where am I?" He would recognize that orange blob anywhere. "Misty?"

He realized that the reason he was finding it hard to breathe was because his mom and the gym leader were crushing him.

"Ash! Are you okay? What happened?" His mother's worried frown twisted into a scowl. "And just where were you?!"

"I'll answer that in order. I'm okay, but, I think my pokemon are in real trouble." He threw out all of his friends, ready to give emergency medical treatment, but instead startled.

They were in perfect condition, practically glowing.

"Yeah. 'Real trouble'," Misty deadpanned.

Meanwhile, Ash's eyes were bugging out of his head. "But-but- last I saw them-… oh, yeah, how did I get here?"

Misty decided to be blunt. "You fell out of the ceiling with a flash of light."

"Kinda psychic-type-y light?"

"Yep."

"… do Espeon have the power of teleportation?"

"What in Giratina's name does that have to do with what happened to you?!" Cried Misty.

"Well, you see, I had made it to the top of Mt. Silver-"

"The place you weren't supposed to go?"

"-and there was this person and an Espeon, and they attacked, but they also were following the battle code. The person, from the outline I could see, looked about twenty-one, and he didn't even switch out once, and beat all of my pokemon with one hit! And then there was this rock slide, and they stopped it from killing me, but they missed one and it fell on me and knocked me ou- _WHERE'S MY HAT?!"_

Delia was already bustling around his head. "Are you sure this isn't some concussion-made delusion? And, anyway, why are you worried about your hat?! That guy might have been the reason you weren't allowed on Mt. Silver! Actually, I don't think concussions can make hallucinations…"

"I just thought that it was because everyone was too chicken to find the legendary pokemon that obviously lives there!"

Misty pinched the bridge of her nose with exasperation. "I think we should talk to Prof. Oak."

…

"So you're telling me that Ash went up Mt. Silver, unguided, with only his pokemon, and survived, even though he was attacked by a mysterious figure?"

The two women and one boy nodded.

The professor frowned at Ash. "…tell me everything in excruciating detail."

…

At the end, the renowned scientist was spacing off. "… that sounds… familiar…" he reached over and grabbed an older model of pokeball, and fidgeted with it. "A sudden blizzard, a mysterious, silent figure with impossibly powerful pokemon…"

And then the old man bolted upright. "That's it! That's why Mt. Silver was closed off! I had two pupils, and they had both gone up the mountain and returned in a similar fashion. Actually, the same fashion. And they were both babbling about blizzards and Espeon. And missing their hats."

Professor Oak was pawing through his big list of pokégear numbers, frantically looking for one. "They had also said something about their pokemon dying, but when they called them out they were fully healed. Aha! Here's the number I was looking for!"

Ash leaned forward. "Who are you calling?"

"Someone who knows where both of the trainers who faced that person are and how to find them. My grandson."

"Gary knows them?"

"No. His older brother, Green, who works in Viridian City."

…

Ash gaped at the Gary doppelgänger in the lab's doorway. "You look just like Gary!"

The man gave him a bored look. "I'm not sure if that's a compliment. I'll take it as one, though."

Was it just him, or had Ash seen a kind of pain in Green's eyes?

Green stepped inside. "So, I heard that there was another luck- unlucky person who has sighted our mystery figure."

Professor Oak nodded, and gestured at Ash. The brunette's teeth were gritted. "Perfect."

…

Green had requested to be able to interrogate Ash alone.

The man's eyes were icy. "First off, let's battle. It's hard to believe someone like you made it to the top. Because I'm the Viridian Gym leader, and the couple of times I did it I needed help. You don't exactly look like much."

"You sure act a lot like your brother, too!"

"I don't care."

Okay, so maybe Green wasn't like Gary. He seemed to have much less bravado. His first pokemon: Charizard.

Ash grinned and sent out Samurott. "Hydro pump!"

"Deflect."

The man's Charizard folded its wings over its body and pushed outward, reversing the course of the jet and hitting Samurott in the chest. "Blast burn."

Both Ash and Samurott were paralyzed as the huge fire attack shot straight at them. The silence was punctuated by the crackling of flames and the smell of smoke.

Samurott had fainted.

Ash quickly grabbed another pokeball, ready to take this jerk down-

"This battle's over. I'm amazed you were able to make it to the top, let alone battle whoever is up there."

"What?! This is just getting started! Don't return your Charizard, mine will beat yours! Hey! Weren't you listening to me?!"

"No, I wasn't. Sit down."

Ash huffed, then obeyed. "So waddaya want?" He asked, arms crossed.

"First off, why did you disobey everyone and climb Mt. Silver?"

"I thought that there might be really powerful pokemon up there!"

"There are really powerful pokemon up there."

Ash nodded eagerly. "Yep, what I would give for that Espeon!"

"No, I mean, wild ones. Didn't you encounter any?" Green's eyes were narrowed.

"No. Why?" Ash was confused.

"Strange… so, you said that you felt 'outside' emotions while up there, that felt separate. Is that true?"

"Yeah." Why was this guy so skeptic?

"Go into more detail."

"Well, when I convinced my Charizard to take me back to the battle when I sent it out, I just felt happy even though I felt angry and frusterated and… and…"

"Go on," prompted the brunette when he saw the boy's fists clench.

"And I felt really, kinda, sad, I guess? When I got knocked out and beaten,"

"And where do you think that these emotions came from?"

"What are you, a psychiatrist?"

"No. First most powerful registered trainer in the world, previously the second, yes, before…" Green drifted off, staring into space like he could see something in it.

"Before what?"

"Nothing. Answer the question."

"I don't know, okay? I've told you and Professor Oak everything I remember!"

"All right. I'm going to call the other two victims. See if your story jogs their memories. If not, then there's one more person I can bring you to…"

…

Sorry, a bit of a filler. But Green's introduced! Yes!

I think most people know who the three, or at least two, of the others are.

Making Green Gary's older brother goes against my headcanon that the characters of the manga are the anime characters parents, and that that's why they're focused on them, but, it works with the story. :P

Merry Christmas, and a happy New Year!


	3. Chapter 3

Peak Ch. 3

…

I was in the mood to write more. The four-hour plane trip with nothing productive but this to do helped.

…

"All right. I'm going to call the other two victims. See if your story jogs their memories. If not, then there's one more person I can bring you to…"

"Finally!" Shouted Ash (as usual). "You were taking forever!"

The boy saw Green take deep breaths. "This is a very serious matter. It's dangerous enough to go through that damned mountain, and now there's this mysterious, unregistered trainer on top of said damned mountain who could be a very serious threat! I don't care if he hasn't shown any malicious intent, he might have… might have…" Once again, Green stopped before making a comment, with a look of pain on his face.

"Might have what?"

"Nothing. Anyway, the first stop is my assistant, Crystal. Call out your Charizard, we're going to Viridian."

…

Ash looked around in wonder at the intricate lab that was Green's.

And then he saw who must have been Crystal, who bore a surprising resemblance to Lyra. His cheeks lit up.

He inwardly berated himself. She was way too old for him.

When she saw him, her eyes widened, before snapping shut and shaking her head violently. "Hey, Green. Who's this?" She asked in a tight voice. Ash got the feeling that she hadn't taken a liking to him.

"Ash Ketchum. Remember that little incident around twenty years ago?"

She bit her lip. "… You know I don't like talking about that, Green."

"Well, this… guy… (Ash felt that Green was about to call him something different) was stupid enough to climb Mt. Silver, and had an encounter with our mystery trainer."

"I swear, that mountain has a curse on it."

The brunette nodded. "I agree. Anyway, he's going to tell you what happened to him in an attempt to jog your memory. Right now."

…

The bluette was frowning at the ground. Green leaned forward, arms on his knees. "Ring any bells, Crys?"

She shook her head.

Her boss sighed. "I guess we'll have to go see Gold then."

Ash noticed how the assistant instantly perked up.

…

While on the train to Johto, Ash just couldn't keep it in any longer. "Hey, Crys?"

"Call me Crystal." Ash was honestly taken aback. He hadn't met many people other than Paul and Trip that were this cold to him. And he didn't even know why!

"I- I was just wondering what your encounter was like."

Crystal sighed, obviously unhappy. "I guess it's only fair, I know yours. Okay, settle down, go to the bathroom, whatever- I'm not going to keep telling if you have to take a break or interrupt."

…

_It was cold. Crystal didn't understand why she had to be the messenger, though she knew Green was busy currently, preparing for a battle, but Blue was just being lazy. Why couldn't Yellow do it? Or Gold?_

_But, it was part or her job. Sadly._

_Well, she had to tell Red that Green was ready, since apparently the champion wasn't answering his pokégear._

_Why couldn't the man had just stayed off of the mountain until his and Green's battle?_

_Huuuuuhhhh…_

_Ah! There! The peak! Finally!_

_Weird… she hadn't been up there for a while, but she was pretty sure that the blizzard wasn't supposed to be this strong. Well, the sooner she went out and stopped stalling, the sooner she could have a nice, warm dinner in Red's shelter and head on home. She was glad she had had time to call in Gold to take over orphanage duties for her for the day, though on hindsight she probably should have called Silver. She hoped she didn't find it as a pile of ash._

_Whoo, it was cold. She could see the homey yellow-tinged light coming out from Red's shelter, probably from a warm fire. Soup sounded delicious right now…_

_Wait… there was someone standing by the edge of the drop. No, a person and a pokemon. Red that's weird. Red never left the fire on while nobody was inside._

_What if it was someone else?!_

_Also, Red never just, stood there. He trained._

_She softly gripped her pokeballs, ready for battle. But she wasn't prepared when the blizzard somehow parted around the pokemon, and the Espeon fired a psybeam at her and her Meganium._

…

"… and all of my pokemon got destroyed pretty easily also, except not all of them in one hit. Now that I think about it, my pokemon were really uneasy, too. Like something was really wrong.

"But the next thing I knew, after I was defeated, I had gotten knocked out. When I woke up, Gold and the orphanage hell-raisers were looking down at me, saying that I'd fallen from a sort of vortex of light, the kind that psychic-type attacks generate. And my hat was gone. I was suspecting my money to have vanished, and all of my precious belongings. But, nope. Just my hat. And my pokemon were in perfect health.

"Everyone was fussing over me, especially after I told them what had happened, and eventually we came to the same conclusion you did, that Espeon had teleported me. And do you know what's strangest?"

Ash broke out of his reverie, and asked, "What?"

"When Professor Oak had run a scan for his pokedex,-"

"Red has a pokedex?!"

"He found out that it was on Mt. Silver, and had stopped picking up a pulse. And guess what? _Red has an Espeon._"

…

Yay! You now know what happened to Crys. If you hadn't figured it out, Ash isn't a super important character. He's just someone who disobeyed rules, and is now caught up in something bigger than his ego, for once. :D


End file.
